March 24, 2013
On to Maturity
Our obedience is not the source of salvation; our obedience is our response to Christ's salvation. We are to turn ugly into beautiful, to right evil with goodness, and to replace darkness with light.
Scripture: Hebrews 5:6-14
Sermon Notes:
- Jesus entered His week of passion and suffering with prayers and supplications, with tears and groanings.
- Moved with compassion and sorrow Jesus weeps and cries out to God, for His disciples and for Himself.
- God heard Jesus’ prayer, and yet He suffered and died; it was in the resurrection that His prayer was answered.
- The hope of the Church is that those who die in Christ will be raised to eternal life.
- Jesus learned the full extent of what God required of Him, and He followed through to death on the cross (Phil. 2:7-8)
- The death penalty for sin did not apply to Christ; He died not for His own sin, but for our sake.
- The work of salvation was made perfect by Christ for our sake (2 Cor. 5:21; Gal. 3:13).
- The cross is the clearest revelation of the gravity of our sin, which brought the eternal Son of God to a cruel death.
- Propitiation means God’s wrath against our sin was poured out upon Christ. Expiation means that God took away our sin, burying it in the grave (cf. 1 John 4:10).
- Christ is the source of eternal salvation, bringing peace, righteousness, and God’s Spirit to those who obey Him.
- Jesus is both Lord and Saviour. Because we know Jesus as Saviour therefore we obey Him as Lord.
- Our obedience is not the source of salvation; our obedience is our response to Christ’s salvation.
- Christ’s suffering is our example of obedience and how to live the Christian life (1Peter 2:21).
- Death is the precondition of life (John 12:24ff.).
- We are participants in the cross: the path of obedience leads us through suffering to resurrection and glory.
- We need to be ready to face increasing persecution in Canada, knowing that Christ will carry us on to the end.
- Anchored to Christ, we are growing up to maturity, discerning good and evil, lest we drift away.
- We need still to apply God’s Word to today’s pressing issues. Unskilled Christians do not consider what is good, right, and beautiful, but what is safe.
- We need to see the world through the lens of Scripture.
- We are to turn ugly into beautiful, to right evil with goodness, and to replace darkness with light.
- We each need to be trained by constant practice in prayer and God’s word so that it becomes a habit.
- We are also to engage in these practices communally, devoting ourselves to the apostles’ teaching, fellowship, breaking of bread, and prayers.
- Proclaiming the gospel in a culture that is increasingly hostile to God, we trust in Jesus who is the source of eternal salvation for those who obey Him.
Application Questions:
- Meditate on and discuss these scriptures: Heb. 12:1-3; 13:12-13; 2 Cor. 4:5-10; Hosea 6:1-3.
- How does Christ’s model of suffering apply to us?
- Are we bringing transformation, or choosing the safe path?
- Contrast the consequences for those who die in Christ versus those who are without Christ.
- Discuss the implications of these statements for our lives: “We are not spectators. We are called to suffer.”
- How are we applying the Word of righteousness?
- Are we benefiting from the communal training in the Word and prayer?
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